In preparation for our first ever community dining event in December, we thought we had better do a dress rehearsal. On Friday the 14th of November we cooked for 18 volunteers and friends to test the temporary kitchen, atmosphere, bar and menu. All we can say is that we are now pretty excited to receive you all at Christmas. Here are some pictures from the night.

In preparation for our application for a refurbishment grant, we commissioned this historic building survey. It details the building's history as well as Stepcote Hill's journey through nearly 2000 years of history. Worth a read if you are interested in the history of Exeter.

Ignite Theatre Festival

April and May have been busy months in preparation for the Ignite Theatre Festival. On 5, 6, and 7 of June we have four amazing acts for you. We would love to show how busy The Hall could be one day and get some pictures of it back in full swing. To see the full programme and book tickets, click on the link below:

If you in any way need persuading, here are some reviews Don Quixote has received:

"Cheerfully anarchic show takes apart Cervantes' novel – with a power saw – and sends a reminder that change begins with us" * * * * The Guardian

"It’s a life-affirming message of hope through disruption and determination, and if that’s not the best way to start a new year then I just don’t know what is." * * * * Time Out Critics Choice

See all four shows at The Hall for just £22! We are also running a full bar. Persuaded?

Funding

We are still in the process of applying for Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF). The archaeological survey is nearly complete; I shall post a copy on here when it's done. Next will be the building survey, which should take a month or two, and then we shall return to the HLF for more guidance. We are no longer giving estimates as to when we may re-launch in order to avoid any disappointment. In the meantime, please support us in attending our skeleton programme of events this summer.

The Building

As much as possible, we are trying to get on with some of the reconditioning with the money we have left. All the windows have now been repaired, re-glazed where required, and re-painted in original colours (or as near as). We are also about to double-glaze the rear windows to aid soundproofing (and heat retention when we eventually have heating). Bolton town hall were getting rid of their stunning 1960's theatre lights, so we gladly purchased them (strand 123s and 23s for the retro-lighting nerds out there) and they are currently being stripped and renovated in Oxfordshire. We are now aiming to get them going sometime in the summer - I had hoped to have them ready for Ignite but with my sister and I both due babies in the next week we have run out of time. Here are the lights ready to be re-built:

Exeter 2nd Scouts kindly gave up three evenings recently to build us a bar for the theatre festival. The bar is a prototype of the proposed design, so we will be able to see whether it needs tweaking before we commission it as part of the refurbishment. To read about the scouts efforts, please see our previous post here:

The fire escape has finally passed the planning phase! We can't quite believe it, given the problems that it has caused, but persistence has paid off in this case. We are about to submit our application for outline permission to rebuild the rear section. The designs below have had a big input from our members, so we thank you for all your feedback and constructive criticism.

Here are the plans! Click to see a bigger version.

Summer Events

Currently, The Hall is pretty basic, although the space is clear. Given that fundraising may take some time, we have decided to just get on with as much as we can. Over the summer, we will be putting on a few events to demonstrate to our potential funders that there is demand and interest. Please keep an eye on our what's on calendar and make sure you have signed up as a member/joined our Facebook group/twitter to be kept up to date.

Again, thank you for your patience! We really hope to see you all at the Ignite Theatre Festival in a couple of weeks.

PS. This Thursday we have a volunteer day to get the space ready for Ignite. If you have any time free please pop down. More info here :

Exeter 2nd Scouts have begun designing the bar for the ignite theatre festival. They are building it next week as part of their community badge. Thank you to all the scouts that have shown such imagination and enthusiasm.